Honoring the Process

Today I (Laurie) have some encouragement for the faith-filled writer -- and the writer who doesn't feel very full of faith.

A little background for you in case we're not friends yet, I'm naturally the kind of person who measures her pursuits in items checked off the to-do list, achievement milestones, and--if we're honest--human affirmation. I like to know I'm doing a good job and that my hard work is meaningful. Or at least that it's leading somewhere.

But over the last few years, the Lord has been working in me to honor the process of writing. My first few years in the pursuit of publication were littered with contest wins, contracts signed, and manuscripts finished relatively quickly.

The last couple of years? Totally different.

I've alternated between hustling to manufacture inspiration and deleting hours of work in self-doubt. I've sabotaged my creativity by reading all the books, searching for some mirror or scale or rubric that will tell me:

Is my offering enough? 

Am I enough?

In January, I wrote about the creative wilderness and how surrendering one's art to the Lord is necessary. But I think it's just as important to honor it as a journey of creating with God, as Allen Arnold emphasizes in his book, The Story of With. Writing is an ongoing process that looks different every day. It should be guided by the Spirit, not the road markers of contracts, wordcounts, and trophies. It should be fueled by the sustenance that only nearness to the Father can provide, not by human accolades.

Not even by coffee.

That doesn't mean there's anything wrong with deadlines, plotting story arcs with the help of a craft book, or seeking feedback from trusted writers. It simply means we should invite the Lord into that process and leave room for Him to improvise.

When we treat our art as an act of worship and a living, breathing practice that's an extension of who God called us to be--who he created us to be--then success won't be measured by completed chapters. Satisfaction won't depend on shiny gold-foil stars in the corner of our paper or what others' successes look like.

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I took a break from writing this post for a bit because my three-year-old Cubby asked me to watch him do a puzzle, and the Lord gave me a beautiful, real-time illustration. Here's what I found in it:

• I stopped what I was doing because I was so happy my son invited me to do something he loves. It pleases the Lord when we invite Him into our lives, not that He isn't already there, but because we are intentionally aware of being in His presence. 

• A few times along the way, Cubby paused, unsure where a piece would go. Most of the time, I resisted the urge to show him, even when he was frustrated. Figuring it out himself made him proud and confident in his next decisions. Even though our all-knowing Father can see the big picture, part of His goodness is letting us do the work of figuring out where the pieces go--in art and in life. We can be confident that He's watching us, will be there to guide us, but that we have everything we need to accomplish this work through the Spirit.

• As my son worked on his puzzle, I wasn't focused on his performance but more on the fascinating way his mind works and the adorable way he sticks out his tongue when he's concentrating really hard. Nothing will make God love us more or less, because the Father's love doesn't depend on what we do but who He is. And His nature is love. 

Whether we're writing the next bestseller or a manuscript that will never see the light of day, the Lord delights in what we are doing because we are HIS. When we feel stuck or disheartened, we can remember our calling may be to point others to the Cross in our stories, but the process of creating is a life-giving, sacred privilege.

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About the author - Current reasons Laurie Tomlinson may have burned dinner include: ogling her soccer playing engineer, chasing two small children, studying for a summer school final, or promoting her latest release, The Long Game, an inspirational rom-com featured in the Once Upon a Laugh novella collection. (On sale for 99 cents-YAY!)

She is also the author of With No Reservations, now available from Harlequin Heartwarming. You can connect with Laurie on her website, Facebook page, and Instagram.

Getting past perfectionism with "free writing"

Perfectionists do things well. If you’re a perfectionist as a writer, you probably check and double-check every fact, deliberate over every word choice, and structure your sentences with impeccable grammatical correctness. These things are good.

Unfortunately, perfectionism has its downside as well.

 

Perfectionism can be crippling.

Have you ever faced a blank white page, the computer cursor blinking at you from the upper left corner, and felt completely immobilized?

Nothing I write will be good enough.

How do I even start?

All I need is the perfect first line, then the rest of the story will flow from there.

But the perfect first line fails to materialize. You make a few attempts, only to backspace in frustration when the words don’t conjure exactly what you had in mind.

Your fingers drum the desk in time with the blink of the cursor.

Deep breath. It’s all good. You know how to deal with this. They taught you how at the last writing conference. So you grab your writing muse by its scrawny neck and try again.

This time you go gung-ho. A whole paragraph flows out. Then another. This is great. You’re gonna be the next Steinbeck. The next Hemingway. The next Lisa Samson or Francine Rivers. Your words will go forth to the masses and bring transformation to peoples’ lives.

Then you read back over what you’ve written.

It’s terrible. Completely, irredeemably bad.

You select the whole pile of drivel and hit delete. It’s obviously time for a coffee break. Some chocolate might help, too. You slink from the room, casting a guilty look over your shoulder at the still-blank screen, the cursor blinking a challenge you don’t think you can meet.

Can anyone relate?

The internal pressure to be perfect can make it extraordinarily difficult to begin a task or follow it through to completion. The bar you set for yourself is so high you get a nosebleed just looking at it. You compare every word you write to the authors you most admire, noting every flaw and fault and shortfall in your work.

And while sometimes this commitment to excellence can be a very good thing, other times you just need to unzip all those restrictive expectations and let yourself breathe a little.

Have some fun again with this whole writing thing.

Let yourself play.

You see, story-telling is a creative art. The side of the brain responsible for imagination, spontaneity and fun is the right side, and this is the mode of thinking we need to tap into if we desire fertile words to spring up on our page. For us perfectionists, however, the left side of the brain can be a constant tight-lipped, toe-tapping presence.

You spelled that word wrong.

That’s a dangling participle right there.

Your voice is as dull as dishwater. You really think anyone will read this dreck?

Trying to write with the critical, editorial side of the brain engaged is like trying to drive with the handbrake on. One technique I learned years ago that helps me unlock the free, fun-lovin’, loosey-goosey creativity on the right side of my brain – without all the criticisms and comparisons from the uptight left – is the technique of free writing.  

You may have heard this referred to as “automatic writing” or “stream of consciousness.” The idea is to sit down at the computer – or with a good old-fashioned pen and paper – and simply write EVERYTHING that comes into your head, without censorship or editing.

No punctuation. No purpose.

Just… write.

Write as fast as you can. Write impetuously. Write without thinking about what you’re writing. Write until you feel like your hand might drop off.

One thought will flow into the next, and the next. Much like rivulets of running water, merging and diverging, the brain forms a constant stream of associations. Your job for this exercise is not to judge or qualify or harness these, but simply to record every whimsical direction your mind chooses to wander.

This can be a great tool for unlocking writer’s block. It’s also useful as a daily warm-up, say for five minutes before starting work on your MS.

Free writing teaches you to write instinctively and reminds you of what it’s like to play with words for the sheer pleasure of it – the way you used to once, perhaps as a child, when you simply wrote for fun, with no expectations.

When you’ve finished, you may choose to read back over what you’ve written. It will undoubtedly make no sense whatsoever. That’s okay. The end product is not the point.

The point is how it makes you feel. When I take the time to do this, I feel limbered up, fluid, reckless, ready to dive in and splash words around on the page with abandon.

And my perfectionism is stunned into silence… for a while, anyway.

Your turn. Perfectionists, raise your hands. Do you ever find your perfectionism stifling? Do you have any tips that have helped you to loosen up and have fun with your writing?

Images courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net

Karen Schravemade lives in Australia. When she's not chasing after two small boys or gazing at her brand-new baby girl, she spends her spare minutes daydreaming about the intricate lives of characters who don't actually exist. Find her on her website, on Twitter or getting creative over at her mummy blog.